Ichiban Ushiro no Daimaou

Chapter 1: A New G.o.d?

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Chapter 1: A New G.o.d?

Soon after the students returned from the virtual alternate dimension, Constant Magic Academy was filled with chaos. Korone, the L’Isle-Adam supposedly sent as Sai Akuto’s observer, had suddenly shot Akuto.

She had pulled a beam weapon from the bag she always carried with her. The narrow laser fired form it had been powerful enough to slice a human body in two, so she had obviously intended to kill him.

And Akuto had already been injured. He had been near death after the attack from Zero in the virtual alternate dimension where he could not use his recovery ability. Attacking him then was further proof that this was not one of Korone’s bad jokes.

The students there stood in shock at the sudden turn of events. Everyone had noticed the change that had come over Korone, but it was also obvious the change went well beyond just Korone. Black smoke was rising from the distant city.

“It looks like all of the L’Isle-Adams in the city are out of control, too,” muttered one student as he checked a news bulletin on his student handbook.

“Then…”

Everyone turned toward Korone. They slowly began moving away from her.

While still holding the beam weapon, Korone slowly walked through the path the students had made. She walked toward Akuto who lay collapsed on the ground. Soga Keena and Etou Fujiko who were pressed up against him looked surprised at Korone’s approach.

“Wh-what are you doing?”

“S-stop this, Korone-chan…”

But their words did not seem to get through to Korone. She continued forward with the barrel of her weapon turned toward Akuto.

“I cannot kill a human. Please move.”

Keena was trying to cover Akuto with her own body which seemed to stop Korone from firing.

Fujiko’s expression stiffened when she heard her words.

“It seems she has not gone completely out of control.”

“Then is someone controlling her?” asked Keena.

However, no one there could give an answer.

Korone silently walked up to Fujiko and the others and stopped while staring down at them.

“H-hey. If you can talk, can you tell us why you’re doing this?” asked Keena in a trembling voice.

Korone put the weapon away in her bag.

For an instant, Keena smiled.

“Th-thank goodness…”

But then Korone spoke.

“I am doing this so that I can eliminate the current demon king.”

Keena was left speechless.

Korone then pulled a long stick-shaped object from her bag.

Fujiko’s face stiffened in fear when she saw it. It was obviously a weapon used in close quarters combat. It was essentially a sword with a blunt rod in place of the blade.

“This is a stun stick. Anyone who resists can be non-lethally eliminated with this. I do not advise resisting.”

Korone stroked the stun stick with her hand and an electric current ran through it.

“So I have to do this one way or another,” muttered Fujiko as sweat flowed down her brow.

Fujiko had fought Korone in the virtual alternate dimension even if it had been a game, so Fujiko knew firsthand what kinds of superhuman movements Korone was capable of.

“We might be in trouble here…”

The situation was almost completely hopeless. None of the students outside of Fujiko and the others would even try to oppose Korone. The most reliable one of them in close quarters combat would be Hattori Junko, but Fujiko could see her standing still in utter shock.

“If we had some kind of opening, we might be able to manage something…”

Fujiko tried to search for an opening in Korone’s movements, but Korone of course did not let her guard down as she walked.

“If you do not move, I will eliminate you.”

Korone swung down the stun stick.

“No!”

Keena clung to Akuto’s body. Fujiko closed her eyes, thinking it was all over.

But in that instant, a tremendous vibration filled the air.

“What is that?”

Noticing the oddity, Fujiko looked up.

Korone had stopped moving and she was vibrating.

“Ahhhhhhhhh…”

She had completely frozen in place while producing a voice similar to a broken recording device.

Fujiko had no idea what had caused this, but it was the opening she needed.

“Cerberus!” she called.

A demonic beast rushed toward the schoolyard. It was a giant dog monster with three heads. Ever since Fujiko had altered it so it would do what she said, she had grown quite fond of it.

As the beast ran over, it used one mouth to toss Akuto onto its back. Keena refused to let go of Akuto, so she was flung onto its back as well.

Fujiko climbed onto the Cerberus’s back and noticed Junko had yet to come to her senses. Fujiko ordered the beast to place Junko on its back as well before running from the courtyard where the other students were standing in shock.

“Hyah!”

Junko finally regained her senses when the giant dog used its mouth to toss her onto its back. She turned to Fujiko and asked a question.

“Senpai, what do we do now?”

“We can only run away. We need to know more about the situation. All I can say for now is that Korone has probably gone nuts due to that ‘original demon king’ that attacked in the virtual alternate dimension.”

Fujiko had the Cerberus run away from Korone.

“H-hey, where are we going? No matter how strong A-chan is, he still needs time to recover,” said Keena worriedly.

“We have no choice. Now that this has happened, I have to bring him to the hidden village of the black magicians.”

Fujiko may have sounded reluctant, but she had intended to do this eventually.

“Hidden village?” repeated Keena in surprise.

“Yes. It is the home of the black magicians I have secretly been in contact with. It is out in the country a bit, but that makes it easier to hide.”

“Senpai, you make it sound like you accept that he is the demon king,” protested Junko.

“Of course I do,” said Fujiko as if doing anything else was foolish.

Junko looked confused.

“But that is not what is best for him.”

“This is not the time for that. If all of the country’s L’Isle-Adams are being controlled, then the entire country will be taken over.”

It appeared Junko could not come up with anything to say in response.

“The only ones who can oppose that are the black magicians who have rebelled against the country,” added Fujiko with a grin. She then looked behind the Cerberus. “Also, it seems we do not have time to discuss it.”

Korone had recovered and she was smoothly pursuing them.

“Kh… But either way, I can hardly go to a village of black magicians,” said Junko reluctantly.

She looked back and forth between Akuto’s unconscious face and the scene behind them. But after looking at Akuto a few times, a sorrowful look filled her face. Having made up her mind, she jumped down from the Cerberus’s back.

“I will stop Korone!”

“If you get separated now, I will not tell you were the hidden village is!” cried Fujiko as Junko grew more distant.

But Junko did not turn back.

“Please hurry up and leave!”

Junko held up her sword.

Korone smoothly approached her.

“Yah!”

With a short cry, Junko went on the attack.

But in no time at all, Korone’s stun stick jabbed into Junko’s gut. The sharp sound of electricity rang out.

“Gh!”

Junko let out a short groan and pa.s.sed out.

Korone’s merciless attack caused Keena to cry out in surprise from the Cerberus’s back.

“No matter how serious she was, the normal Korone-chan would make a joke here!”

Even as she instantly took out Junko, Korone gave no dry comment and instead continued pursuing the Cerberus.

She moved faster than the Cerberus could run, so she quickly caught up.

“I will make sure I can resist you at least some this time!”

Fujiko swung her hand to use magic.

However, she stopped in confusion.

She could not focus mana in that hand.

“What!? My magic…”

“You can’t use it?” cried Keena in surprise.

“Has this situation affected the G.o.ds too?” speculated Fujiko just as Korone jumped up.

She dropped toward them from the air with the stun stick held out.

“In that case…!”

Fujiko decided to use the code for the black magic that was not controlled by the G.o.ds. She focused on activating it, but Korone’s attack was too quick.

“I won’t make it in time!”

Fujiko’s eyes opened wide with fear, but the same phenomenon from before came over Korone.

Her body began vibrating and she dropped from the air as if she had fallen unconscious.

“Again? I’m not about to complain, but what is that?”

As Fujiko spoke her question aloud, the Cerberus suddenly slowed its pace.

“What is it?”

Fujiko looked forward and Keena pointed ahead of them.

“There’s someone there.”

A single girl stood atop a hill away from the academy in the direction the Cerberus was headed. She held something box-shaped in her hands.

“Who is that?”

Fujiko prepared herself for an attack, but the girl waved her hand as if she recognized Fujiko and the others.

“You’re Etou Fujiko-san, right? If you’re going to flee, can you take me with you? I’ll explain the situation later,” said the girl sociably.

Fujiko was of course suspicious, but her mouth opened in shock when she heard what the girl, Kita Yoshie, said next.

“I’m sure you find this surprising, but we’ve met before. I was Yoshihiko in the virtual alternate dimension.”

“So that’s it.”

Fujiko nodded in understanding and let Yoshie on the Cerberus. She then turned to the box-shaped object the girl held. It had something like an antenna attached with a cord and Yoshie turned it toward Korone.

“This is an attachment for the virtual alternate dimension creator I made. When the device activates, it creates a barrier by vibrating the mana in the air, so I can use this to give that barrier directionality,” explained Yoshie.

“In other words, you can vibrate the mana in the direction the antenna is pointed to keep someone from moving?”

Yoshie nodded.

“Exactly. It seems the G.o.ds aren’t giving permission to use magic, but machines like this can still manage. This is all I can rely on. However, I can only use it in short bursts or it will overheat, so it’ll only buy us some time,” complained Yoshie.

“Not to worry,” said Fujiko with a smile. “I will make sure we escape in the opening that creates. And even without that machine, I can use magic unconnected to the G.o.ds. I can use black magic.”

“Fwoh! That’s great. Please do.”

Yoshie clapped her hands together and Fujiko grinned.

“You make it sound easy. It is actually quite difficult. …Bring the darkness of my heart into the world!”

While Fujiko chanted those words to focus her mind, a dark aura surrounded her body.

No, it only looked like an aura. It was actually black mana. The surrounding mana was being used to distort the light and cut off one’s vision.

That dark curtain of mana spread out and covered the area about 100 meters around them.

“We can use this chance to hide in the mountains behind the school,” said Fujiko in a satisfied tone.

“Amazing. I’m really impressed,” cheered Yoshie.

Fujiko looked at her and shrugged.

“Your personality is a lot different than it was in the virtual alternate dimension.”

“Oh, that was roleplaying. I was just trying to act like the guys in otome games.”

“Otome games? You mean those games where beautiful boys tease the player?”

“Oh? Do you play them?”

“No, I do not. But I suppose you would be that kind of person if you created that game. …Wait, that does not matter. Can you explain the situation?” asked Fujiko.

As Fujiko and the others began their flight, a single land car was driving through the center of the imperial capital. After escaping Lily Shiraishi’s attack, 2V had arranged for another CIMO 8 member to pick her up.

The man in the driver’s seat let out a falsetto cry of surprise.

“Twins!?”

He was a quiet-looking middle-aged man. He wore gla.s.ses and the lab coat of a researcher. From his appearance, one would a.s.sume not much would elicit such an exaggerated reaction from him, but what he had just been told was one of those few things.

“Yes. I am Kazuko’s twin,” said 2V with a grin.

She looked like a sickly skinny girl, but if that was true, she would have to be quite old. However, it did not seem she was lying or that she had gone insane. If 2V’s face had held any color at all and she was brought up to a healthy weight, she would look exactly like Empress Kazuko.

The man in the driver’s seat, Kento, had interacted with 2V in the past, but this was the first time he had seen her true face.

“Does no one know about this?”

“No one but the parties concerned. Oh, and the head of the imperial guard might know. I wanted to make sure I never returned to the palace. Almost no one knew in the first place, but I made sure to erase the memory from the doctors’ minds. It was a real pain,” said 2V as if it barely concerned her.

“Was it done so the twins wouldn’t fight over succession?”

“No. This seems to be the tradition. One of the twins is raised as a body double. That’s just how the imperial family does things. I was trained for that role and gained the abilities I have now. Until the day I was scouted by CIMO 8’s currently missing leader and fled the palace, I lived for the sake of this empire. Ah ha ha…”

2V laughed loudly.

“Is that why you resurrected Zero, the first demon king?” asked Kento in disgust as he looked out the window.

The cityscape visible there was still in the middle of a disaster. Smoke rose here and there between the buildings, flying cars had crashed to the ground, and land cars had run off the roads.

That was what happened when every single L’Isle-Adam temporarily malfunctioned. In the modern day, everything from driving to manual labor was almost entirely handled by L’Isle-Adams. Kento could not even imagine how many small accidents had occurred in factories and the like.

“Zero can control all L’Isle-Adams, so he’s the perfect partner for me. This chaos is only temporary. I’ve already regained control, so these disasters will not spread any further.”

“So you had me prepare that vessel for Zero in order to end this chaos. I’m going to ask you again: what exactly is Zero?”

“The very first L’Isle-Adam and the very first demon king. However, he was more an artificial intelligence than an artificial human. He was created to manage mankind.”

“…So he came before the G.o.ds,” muttered Kento.

In the sense that he was an artificial intelligence created to manage mankind, he was the same as the current G.o.ds.

“Zero was meant to maximize mankind’s happiness, but for some reason, he concluded wiping out humanity would best achieve that goal.”

“Why?”

“I can give him an interview now, so maybe I’ll ask him later. I’m going to be busy for a while though, so it will have to wait. At any rate, Zero’s problems were fixed and the G.o.ds were quickly made. That led to the very first demon king war.”

“So that’s how the demon king and G.o.ds fought for the first time.”

“It was actually a fight between L’Isle-Adams and human magic. The fight was on a fairly small scale, but Zero was ultimately sealed.”

“Why didn’t they destroy him?”

“That’s the thing. To put it simply, Zero is the supporting pillar of their thoughts. If they lose Zero, they will likely no longer be able to exist.”

“So it all starts with Zero, is that it?”

“He is also the first L’Isle-Adam, so Zero really is the foundation of our current society. Still, a tool is nothing more than a tool. That’s why I can control him. That makes me the strongest existence in the world right now. Oh, sorry. I suppose we usually think of ‘strongest’ as referring to CIMO 8’s Codename USD.”

2V’s face twisted in a smile.

Kento was the Codename USD in question. However, Kento showed no sign of feeling any emotion over those words. He merely adjusted the position of his gla.s.ses and spoke.

“In other words, you are starting a rebellion.”

“No, I am taking on a new ident.i.ty. From now on, I will be Kazuko. I think I’ll see what it’s like ruling as empress.”

Kento glanced over at 2V. A look similar to killer intent could be seen behind his gla.s.ses.

“I know you are not the obsessively ambitious type, so why are you doing this?”

2V returned his look with the eyes of a lifeless girl. Only the very corner of her mouth turned up in a grin.

“If I gave a boring answer here, you would become my enemy, wouldn’t you? But you know you’ll enjoy what I’m doing here. I want to prove that everyone but me is crazy. A lovely experiment, don’t you think?”

A truly rational smile covered the face of that girl with sunken cheeks. That combined with her lifeless eyes, would have made anyone think she was the crazy one. However, that expression and her words were actually both calculated and restrained.

Kento opened his mouth a bit and then closed it. That was how much this had surprised him.

“Everyone but you?”

“Yes. Everyone in the world. Once I become empress, I will make them all go crazy with just a few words. However, I believe that this will actually save the world. How about we tear away all the false civility? I want to show them just how much they all desire chaos and violence.”

2V laughed.

“I see. I can’t help you with that, but I will watch you. If you can pull it off on such a large scale, then do it. I look forward to seeing if you prevail or if some sane person prevails,” said Kento as he stopped the car.

2V opened the door to find the park entrance to the palace. She got out and a great number of L’Isle-Adams lined up. They all worked in the palace. Some were male, some were female, and they were all dressed as official servants. They greeted their new master, 2V, in an orderly fashion.

The splendid palace in that nature-filled area at the center of the city was now 2V’s.

“Did you capture Empress Kazuko?” 2V asked a nearby L’Isle-Adam.

“No, Her Majesty was absent,” replied the L’Isle-Adam.

“Do you mean she ran away?”

“Yes, but she is alone. All the others in the palace have been restrained.”

“I see. When I enter the palace, they might think the empress has returned. Well, even if they find it suspicious, they’ll have no choice but to treat me as the real one in this situation.”

With a mocking laugh, 2V looked up at the top of the palace.

A strange sight could be seen there.

An object was floating there. It was almost a sphere, but it had exactly 20 edges that formed corners. Its diameter was twenty meters long. It looked halfway between being transparent and silver, but its slimy-looking metallic surface reflected the surrounding scenery and emitted too much light to look directly at it.

That was Zero’s body.

“So that holds a G.o.d’s body within a virtual alternate dimension. You sure made a luxurious home for him.”

2V turned toward the car and waved.

Kento lightly raised his hand in response and drove off.

2V walked alongside the row of L’Isle-Adams and looked back up at Zero.

She was currently controlling Zero. That was possible because of the imperial family’s magic that she had been taught. The single type of magic she was able to use had given her this absolute power.

And 2V gave a loud order to Zero without speaking.

Suddenly, a giant image appeared in the air above the splendid palace. It was an image of Kazuko.

Of course, it was not the real Kazuko. It was an image produced by Zero. However, it looked and sounded exactly the same as the real one. This Kazuko spoke the words 2V spoke.

“I am saddened by the recent accidents,” began Kazuko.

The image was being transmitted all across the empire.

2V began by honestly announcing that the chaos had been caused by Zero. She explained what Zero was and what his ability was. She then worked to convince the people that they should not oppose Zero.

The G.o.ds had ceased to function. That meant the people could not use magic. On top of that, all of the L’Isle-Adams were under Zero’s control. She told them they should do what he says.

Essentially, she was announcing the empress’s surrender.

Once the surrender was complete, 2V had her words transmitted in Zero’s voice. An inhuman and frightening male voice reverberated throughout the empire.

“The G.o.ds are dead. But that is not a problem. Cast aside your magic. I will use the L’Isle-Adams to serve all of you. And in so doing, I shall rule over an empire of eternal happiness. I am the new G.o.d.”

Zero (aka 2V) finished the announcement.

2V gave a loud laugh and pa.s.sed through the palace gate.

In that moment, the empire fell under 2V’s control.

One week had pa.s.sed since the sudden change to the empire. There had of course been great chaos in that time, but the people had quickly grown used to their life without magic.

All public services were carried out by L’Isle-Adams. The churches where the G.o.ds were worshiped were done away with and the priests lost their jobs. The knights were redistributed underneath L’Isle-Adam bosses and they acted on the orders of those bosses. Almost every corporation was placed under the management of L’Isle-Adams. There was of course ma.s.sive unemployment.

However, losing one’s job did not lead to hardship. Almost all of the production needed to keep society running was carried out by L’Isle-Adams, so people no longer had to labor. Everyone gained a decent income without doing anything.

—I would never have guessed this would feel so empty.

Junko absentmindedly thought while sitting in one corner of a cla.s.sroom.

Constant Magic Academy was gone. The students who still wanted to attend school had been transferred to normal schools. Most of the students had chosen to continue their schooling, but they had been distributed to different schools in order to keep them from forming too large a group.

Junko was now living a normal life among unfamiliar students.

—Normal?

She questioned the term she herself had used. It did seem this had been normal long ago. One attended cla.s.ses with no real objective in mind and memorized only the knowledge needed to not obstruct society in the future. However, she was mostly being forced to gain the patience to obediently sit still during cla.s.s. Being obedient was what mattered most. In the society that had arrived a week earlier, a mistake could lead to the L’Isle-Adams no longer bringing you food. Simply “not thinking” had become a lot more important.

However, none of the students around her had chosen to study magic in the past. Some of them even welcomed this society.

“I bought the guitar Myou-chan used on TV yesterday.”

“You moron. You shouldn’t let her influence you so much.”

“What’s wrong with it? I’ll be popular if I learn how to play it.”

“The L’Isle-Adams can play any song more accurately, so what’s the point?”

“Don’t forget about emotion. I just have to learn how to make girls cry with my guitar.”

Junko could hear the boys talking during the break. They realized that the only “human” activities left were the arts and self-expression, but she could not believe they would waste their efforts on trying to be popular. Of course, those boys would not agree with her at all.

—This will just repeat without end from here on… Anyone can tell that.

Once they graduated, they would not need to work. They would live a life of alcohol, food, and romance. She could not currently contact them, but her parents had been stopped from reconstructing the temple of Suhara and were currently in a state of pseudo house arrest. Junko herself had begun a life of going back and forth between her dorm and school with no real purpose.

“You look sad. How about we go eat parfaits after school?” asked Korone.

She spoke so brightly one almost forgot how she used to ask. She actually had an expression on her face, she did not wear her uniform properly, and she acted like any normal girl.

“No, thanks,” replied Junko with a stiff expression.

She still could not get over how wrong it all felt. Korone was now a popular member of the cla.s.s and she helped create the cla.s.s’s bright and cheerful mood.

“You’ll never be popular like that. You’re wasting that cute face of yours,” said Korone jokingly.

Junko had repeatedly asked Korone to return to her old personality, but it was no use. Junko was now the weird one in the cla.s.s.

“I promised to meet my little sister today. But that does not matter. How about you return to how you used to be?”

“How I used to be? I’ve always been like this. And if you keep saying these weird things, you might get arrested. I hear there are a lot of people getting arrested for antigovernment activities.”

Korone then dashed back over to her friends. Junko did not overlook the strangely eerie look in her eyes as she left.

There were indeed rumors of people opposing the L’Isle-Adams’ control. Junko had even seen posts on the internet recruiting likeminded people. However, those had disappeared in less than a day.

—This might be a really bad situation.

Junko felt a vague unease.

After school, she headed to where she had promised to meet her sister Yuuko. She walked toward the clock at a street corner near her school.

Yuuko worked in the entertainment industry as an idol, so she was well-known. She was currently wearing a hat to disguise herself somewhat, but Junko was more surprised by the person standing next to her.

“Hiroshi!” cried Junko in surprise.

Miwa Hiroshi raised a hand in greeting with an uncomfortable look on his face.

“Hey. For some reason, it’s kind of embarra.s.sing seeing you again now.”

“You were not around during that commotion. Where have you been?”

“He transferred to my school,” explained Yuuko in his place.

Yuuko looked delighted.

—Come to think of it, they did get along oddly well.

Junko felt an odd sense of understanding as she looked at the two of them together.

“Fine, but wouldn’t it be bad if someone saw you with him?” said Junko in a slightly teasing tone.

Yuuko laughed, but Hiroshi grew terribly fl.u.s.tered.

“P-please give me a break, cla.s.s rep.”

“Ah ha ha ha. Hiroshi-kun, it’s fine, so don’t worry about it. I don’t mind at all.”

“You should mind at least some,” said Junko.

“Th-that’s right. You’re famous.”

Hiroshi still looked nervous.

“No, it’s not a problem. The industry has gotten a little weird recently,” pouted Yuuko.

“Really?”

“Yeah. There’s some kind of pressure or something. I’m not sure how to put it, but it isn’t fun. What I say is decided ahead of time, there’s more and more I’m not allowed to sing, and I can’t choose anything for myself.”

As Yuuko began to complain, Hiroshi frantically pushed at the two sisters’ backs.

“C-c’mon, let’s go to a café. We shouldn’t just stand around and talk.”

They entered a random café and Junko and Yuuko got to the reason they were meeting: they had wanted to discuss their parents.

“So are father and the others okay?”

Junko could not help but lower her voice.

“Yeah. Nothing’s happened to them, but it looks like we can’t meet them directly any time soon. Also…”

At that point, their tea arrived and Yuuko stopped talking. The waitress was of course a L’Isle-Adam and Junko did not like how she glanced over at their faces. Junko may have just been overly sensitive, but it still bugged her.

“How far do you have to go, I wonder?” muttered Junko.

“How far?” asked Yuuko.

“How much do you have to say or do before you get arrested like in the rumors?” clarified Junko.

Hiroshi’s expression grew serious, but Yuuko laughed lightly.

“Ah ha ha. Don’t worry. Dad and the others are fine. Nothing’s going to happen.”

“R-right…”

Despite what Junko said, something about it all bothered her.

Only a week had pa.s.sed, but an unpleasant aura had spread throughout the city. The people who had never used magic in their everyday lives may not have noticed as much, but a lack of freedom and an oppressiveness had definitely increased.

But what bothered her even more was how most people seemed to have no problem with it. It was the same with Yuuko. Even though their parents had been confined to their home, she was acting like it was no big deal.

“But we have definitely lost our freedom. When something is taken from you, isn’t it wrong to expect benevolence from those who took it from you?” asked Junko.

Hiroshi quickly cut in.

“C-c’mon, you could also say we have more freedom now, don’t you think? After all, the restrictions from the G.o.ds are gone, so we can do whatever we want. And you could say the ability to use magic was too great a responsibility for us. Also, we can get perfect scores at these normal schools without even trying. That makes school a place to just have fun with your friends,” said Hiroshi with a stiff smile.

“But shouldn’t we always try to improve ourselves? And given our position, Yuuko and I may be in danger, so…”

Junko tried to dig in her heels, but Hiroshi shook his hands to cut her off.

“No, no. You aren’t in danger at all.”

Yuuko took Hiroshi’s side.

“It’ll be fine. And if anything does happen, Hiroshi-kun will protect me.”

Yuuko clung to Hiroshi’s arm and he shook his head while blushing.

“No, no. I have no power, so please don’t do anything dangerous.”

Junko felt a bit of self-loathing when she realized she found that scene somewhat irritating rather than charming.

—It has only been a week.

Only a week had pa.s.sed, but that commotion felt like the distant past. While amid that chaos, she had wanted the danger and her exploding emotions to pa.s.s as quickly as possible, but she now looked back on them with sweet feelings of nostalgia.

—All of that came from him.

She thought about Akuto.

She felt she might forever regret not running away with him. If she never met him again, she certainly would.

—But he never felt that way about me…

She was aware just how much of a shock it had been to her when he had suggested she spend time with Yoshihiko. She did not want to admit it, but that had been why she had jumped down from that Cerberus’s back.

—Shouldn’t I have done everything I could to stay with him?

As she thought about that, she held her head in her hands and groaned.

“Are you okay?”

Yuuko’s question brought her back to her senses.

“Y-yes. It is nothing. I just think you should be more cautious.”

Junko cleared her throat and shook her head.

“C’mon, I know that. Just try to keep in touch.” Yuuko drank the rest of her tea and turned toward Hiroshi. “You’re free after this, right? There’s somewhere I want to go with you.”

“F-fine. As long as we don’t stay out too late.”

“What? We’re not little kids. Your school doesn’t have a dorm, so you live alone in an apartment, right?”

“Y-yeah, but I have something I need to do today…”

“Okay. We just can’t stay out too late today, right?”

Hiroshi and Yuuko had already begun their own conversation. Junko wanted to leave, so she stood up, causing her chair to sc.r.a.pe against the floor.

“How about we leave?”

“Okay. If you need something, just tell me. Make sure to watch the shows I’m on, okay?” said Yuuko.

After parting ways with Yuuko who looked delighted and Hiroshi who looked troubled, Junko returned to her dorm room and sat in that room which had nothing but the essentials.

The only entertainment came from internet broadcasts. She could communicate with others using online messages, but Junko only felt any affinity with those who used to use magic. And any political conversation would quickly be suppressed.

As she stared blankly at a news show without really watching it, she was overcome by a feeling of gradually going insane. The news was clearly more monotonous than it used to be. Criminal incidents were not reported, so the news only talked about food, sports, and other recreational activities. It was possible there really were no criminal incidents to report. Some L’Isle-Adams were not made beautiful and were truly impossible to distinguish from a human. Junko had heard those ones would prevent crimes before they were committed or arrest the criminal immediately after they were committed. If that was true, it meant people were being monitored at all times.

—I feel like I am going to go crazy being constantly watched like this.

Junko turned off the news, but then she could not bear sitting in that silent room.

—I just want to tell someone what I honestly feel.

She wondered if this was what it meant to long for human companionship, but when it came down to it, it was Akuto she wanted to talk with.

—I really do regret not going with him, don’t I?

Just as Fujiko had said when they had parted ways, she might never see them again.

As she sat silently thinking that, she felt an odd itching feeling on her face. She reached up and her finger came back wet.

—I am crying… I did not even notice…

No one was watching, but she was overcome with an intense feeling of embarra.s.sment.

—Did I care about him that much?

At the same time, a feeling of shame lurked deep within her chest.

—I should have just been honest. Why couldn’t I do that? I always try and fail on my own.

Junko looked up so as not to cry any more.

—Is it all over already?

Hiroshi had transferred to a school without a dormitory, so he lived in an apartment. However, when he returned home a bit late in the evening because of his time with Yuuko, he found a girl sharply glaring at him in his room.

She was short and a bit boyish, but her expression was that of someone used to ordering others around. She sent a stream of abusive language toward Hiroshi the second he returned.

“You’re late. I was beginning to think something happened. You need to be more careful.”

She was former student council president Lily Shiraishi.

After 2V had escaped from them, Hiroshi had used his power to repel the attacking dolls, but they had been forced to flee and hide because Zero had control of the G.o.ds and had taken the empress hostage. Fortunately, it remained a secret that the suit Hiroshi had been given by Yamato Bouichirou had regained its power. The suit’s mana canceller had cut off the information the dolls had been sending to Zero. Lily had ended up hiding in Hiroshi’s apartment.

“I can’t help it. I do have a life, you know?” complained Hiroshi.

He closed the door, turned on the lights, and then froze in place.

Lily was in nothing but her underwear and sitting cross-legged on the floor. This was simply too immodest, so Hiroshi frantically looked away.

“Wait, president. You can’t dress like that…”

“Stop s.e.xualizing everything, you idiot. I’m just washing my clothes,” complained Lily.

She did not seem to think of Hiroshi as a guy because she showed no sign of embarra.s.sment.

“In that case, wear my clothes.”

“I can’t wear your clothes. They lack the proper beauty.”

“And being half-naked is beautiful?”

“If you can’t think of your own body as beautiful, it means you haven’t trained it enough.”

Hiroshi glanced over at Lily and tilted his head.

“Well, you aren’t fat, but you aren’t exactly feminine either…”

A dangerous light filled Lily’s eyes when she heard that.

She stuck her right hand out while sitting on the floor. After a moment, she realized something and stood up.

“d.a.m.n. I still try to use magic without thinking.”

Lily walked over to Hiroshi, stretched her back up as straight as she could, and grabbed his face with her right hand.

“Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow…”

“Oh, shut up. There’s a body type you’re born with and it’s hard to get away from it.”

“I get it. I get it.”

“Honestly. I wouldn’t have chosen this combination either. If I have to share a room with a guy, I’d prefer one who’s a little manlier,” complained Lily as she walked away from Hiroshi.

“Like aniki?” asked Hiroshi as he rubbed his face.

He was of course referring to Akuto.

One of Lily’s cheeks rose in a grin.

“Hmph. Being in that kind of situation with someone I want to kill one of these days might not be so bad.”

Lily could say some surprisingly adult things given her size.

Hiroshi was unsure how to respond, so Lily changed the subject.

“Anyway, you’re the only one I can rely on right now, so you need to be more of a man.”

Hiroshi’s face stiffened.

“I know that. We can’t use magic, so my suit is the only way to fight, right?”

“Exactly. And you’re the only one I can use to contact people, too. I can’t leave this room, after all,” said Lily as she held a handheld computer out toward Hiroshi. “Any progress on 2V’s ident.i.ty?”

Hiroshi transferred data from his student handbook and into the computer.

“There’s only so much I can investigate, but I did secretly get some data from someone working for your dad. It seems the empress’s declaration of surrender wasn’t Kazuko-sama. It was a synthesized video.”

“I guess the rumors that the empress’s face has changed a bit are true. That’s definitely a healthier-looking 2V,” said Lily in a tone that said she still could not believe it.

“But even if 2V had Zero’s power, she would need a blood relation to the empress to take over the palace so easily. And it would all make a lot more sense that way,” said Hiroshi.

Lily folded her arms.

“True. But in that case, I can’t explain how she has handled things afterwards. If I were 2V, I would kill Kazuko and kill us, but that hasn’t happened yet.”

“Yes. I thought we would run into trouble sooner. Kazuko-sama might have been killed already, but if so, she should be working even harder to find you since you’ve seen her face.”

“All she’s doing is crushing any antigovernment activities and the black magicians. That would mean 2V is targeting Akuto.”

“I don’t get it,” said Hiroshi as he thought.

“But it’s convenient for us. Whatever the problem is, we just have to kill 2V to resolve it. That leaves you as our trump card. I’ll put together a plan to attack the palace with the former priests, so you help me contact them.”

Lily patted Hiroshi’s shoulder.

He shrugged with a troubled expression.

“You just want to kill 2V. You could act cuter, you know?” complained Hiroshi.

Lily gave a smile that was hardly cute. It would have made a veteran warrior tremble in fear.

“I can be cute when I need to, but our school was shut down and my L’Isle-Adam officer Arnoul is being controlled. This is no time to be sitting around acting so foolishly.”

Hiroshi took a step back.

“O-okay, I won’t ask you to be cute, but could you at least not be so openly hostile to the person letting you use his room?”

“Shut up. If I did that, you’d sneak into my bed at night,” declared Lily.

“President, you use most of my blankets at night, so I want to sneak into your bed for another reason… It’s starting to get cold,” complained Hiroshi.

“Fine. You can have one summer blanket. If you fold it over three times and wrap it around your stomach, it’ll keep you warm,” said Lily with odd confidence.

“Even if I didn’t have any feelings for the girl, I thought living with one would be better than this…”

Hiroshi grew depressed, but Lily showed no sign of caring.

“Shut up, you idiot. If you aren’t going to make dinner, go buy something at the convenience store. But don’t buy two bentos. That would give away that you’re feeding someone else.”

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